Conventional circular saw blades typically include a grinding element bonded to a carrier element, such as a plate or wheel. Over a period of use, the grinding elements wear down and must be replaced.
Often, it can be difficult for a user to easily determine how much of the grinding element remains. Known methods require a user to measure the remaining grinding element with a rule or a caliper and calculate the remaining life in the grinding element using that measurement and the material properties of the workpiece. These measurements take time and are rarely performed under ideal conditions. Rather, the grinding elements are measured in the field by workers who may be untrained in using a caliper and who are often in a hurry to finish the job.
Miscalculation can be costly: if the user underestimates the amount of the remaining grinding element, the circular saw blade is replaced before the end of its life, wasting a portion of the grinding element. If the user overestimates the amount of the remaining grinding element, the user risks damaging the workpiece, the carrier element, or both.
Examples of solutions known in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,295 and European Patent Application EP 1,201,386 A2. Drawbacks of these known solutions are that the wear indicators may weaken the grinding element and/or that the wear indicators may become clogged with swarf or other debris during operation. As such, improved wear indicators are desired.